Peeling Bananas
This rather unremarkable image was taken on top of a restaurant table in Hue, Vietnam. The question posed, or the dilemma illustrated, is "how do you peel a banana". I peeled the banana on the left. Grasping the banana with the peduncle toward the top, snapping it back quickly and then peeling down. The banana on the right was peeled by Mr. Thanh (see Kon Tum). He started the other way completely, with the peduncle at the bottom. Opined that the sweetest part of the banana was near the penduncle and that he liked to save that for the last bite. The Vietnamese lady at the table to our right grabbed both ends of the banana and snapped it in half. Never seen anyone do that. Mr. Thanh said it was quite common - in Central Vietnam (but not in the North or the South). [NOTE: I'd never appreciated the depth of the cultural universe related to peeling bananas].
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